Efforts to reverse climate change are not fast-acting enough, so we must take practical steps now to blunt disasters, says a March 2016 report called “Adaptation for a High Energy Planet: A Climate Pragmatism Project.”

Co-author Daniel Sarewitz – a sustainability scientist and the director of ASU's Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes – explains that while working toward a reduction in carbon emissions is important, we must adapt to the increased likelihood of extreme weather events in the meantime. This can be achieved through flexible, forward-thinking infrastructure; contingency plans for evacuation and emergency housing; and improved weather tracking, among others.

“There’s all sorts of aspects to this; it’s not just a technological problem,” Sarewitz says. “What we’d really like to see is policymakers and the media realize that there is a different, more hopeful way to look at the problem, and it points the way towards solutions.”

How we cope with the accumulating effects of our actions is a major issue for society and requires understanding and political leadership.

This was the sentiment of the Sustainability Series talk given by Sir Crispin Tickell – a member of the Board of Directors for Sustainability at ASU – in April 2016.

He began by staging The Anthropocene, which he described as a man-made geological epoch that started when fossil fuels began replacing muscle.

Now, Tickell said, we need to address climate change on an intellectual level, closing the gap between scientific findings and political will. We need to learn to think differently and – above all – to expect the unexpected.

Tickell is a member of the Advisory Council for Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford. He is the former director of the Policy Foresight Programme for the University of Oxford and former chancellor of the University of Kent. 

Ariel Anbar

President’s Professor in ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration and the School of Molecular Sciences, Anbar focuses on the chemical evolution of the atmosphere and oceans as he searches for life in the present, past and future.

The world we know is the product of an infinitesimal period, not only human history but in that of life on Earth. To understand the future as well as the past, we need to look back not only over the last 200,000 years since humans began to change the surface of the Earth, but also the last few million years which saw the evolution of our species.

Sir Crispin Tickell – British diplomat, environmentalist, academic and member of the Board of Directors of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at ASU – explores the subject of "Big History" in this discussion, hosted by the Spirit of the Senses arts and cultural organization based in Phoenix.

ASU was recently named a participant in a three-year, $26-million grant that will help Mexico – a country in the midst of privatizing and updating its energy industry – explore its energy options and how it can connect with its neighbors.

The grant was awarded to the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey by Mexico’s National Council for Science and Technology and its Secretary of Energy, and is designed to address the energy economy in the country. It will help build infrastructure, perform research and conduct educational activities, preparing Mexico for its energy future.

ASU is receiving $1.5 million of the grant and will provide its energy economic modeling proficiency via the Decision Theater. It will also apply its renowned expertise in power engineering to the project, according to ASU LightWorks Deputy Director Stephen Goodnick.

Save the date for this exciting opportunity to participate in The Arizona Chapter of The Wildlife Society's (TWS) Wildlife Techniques Workshop on April 23, 2016!

The main courses take place from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the bat mist netting will be held after dark. Anticipated topics include capture/trapping techniques, darting/leg holds/propane net guns, CODA net gun, bat ID and mist netting, radio-telemetry and GPS at Horseshoe Ranch. Camping is permitted Friday, April 22, and Saturday, April 23, and offers time for informal networking.

This event is free, but a $5 annual membership fee to TWS is requested. Space is limited to 60 people. RSVP must be received by April 8. To reserve your spot, contact Holly Hicks at 623-236-7499, or hhicks@azgfd.gov.

The Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP) is a collaboration between The Nature Conservancy, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) to address scalable solutions to global challenges at the intersection of nature conservation, sustainable development and human well-being.

The Ecosystem Services and Key Biodiversity Areas Work Group principle investigators, Dr. Leah Gerber and Dr. Penny Langhammer, et al. are working to incorporate ecosystem services and human well-being benefits into Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) developed by The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Click here for more information on the KBA partnership between CBO and IUCN.

The McDowell Sonoran Field Institute has just announced their 2016-2017 Graduate Fellowship. The Field Institute Director, Helen Rowe, will discuss the fellowship, the priority research areas, and ways you can collaborate on Monday, April 5, from 12:00-1:00 p.m. The talk will take place in ISTB1, Room 301, and both faculty and students are welcome. No RSVP is required.

Biodiversity describes the plethora of different species on the Earth, as well as the ecosystems that they create and sustain. Humans couldn’t survive without a biodiverse planet, simply because the ecosystems we rely on only function due to the interactions of all these different species. In many cases, we don’t know exactly how a single species fits into the web of ecosystem functions; we do know that once a species goes extinct, there’s no going back.

The Center for Biodiversity Outcomes (CBO) is one of Arizona State University’s newest endeavors to conserve biodiversity around the world, through research, natural resource management and education. In terms of education, the center is one of several ASU programs now working with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to connect student researchers with partners in the global south to address conservation challenges.

“We are delighted to collaborate with the USAID program to provide our students with hands-on practical conservation development research,” says CBO director Leah Gerber.

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Applications for summer employment as a  Northern Mexican Gartersnake Research Aide are due April 1, 2016. The successful applicant will be a graduate or a senior level undergraduate student. The research aide will assist in data collection, including radio telemetry, repair of traps, vegetation measurements and data entry. Be prepared for difficult field conditions (hot temperatures, thick vegetation, long hours, etc.).

To apply, visit ASU's Student Employment page and search for Requisition ID 21256BR.

A group of ASU undergraduate and graduate students has created an extensive resource dedicated to enhancing the experience of future conservation biologists and showing them the range of career options in the field.

Nature@ASU, which launches in fall 2016, will feature five components: a mentorship program; an internship finder; a job-mining component; high school outreach; and a website.

Sharon Hall, associate director of education and diversity at the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes and a senior sustainability scientist, will serve as Nature@ASU's faculty adviser. She explains that though conservation biology careers are numerous, they are often unclear to high school students and their parents.

The is where the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes will play a supporting role, helping Nature@ASU create a hub for conservation biology engagement.

Roberto Gaxiola

Roberto has created a new form of biotechnology that enables plants to use less water, but grow a greater amount of food by altering a gene commonly used in photosynthesis of the plant. This will cause farmers to use less resources when growing crops and create more food for the world which will reduce food scarcity.

One graduate student will be offered the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy Biodiversity Fellowship for the 2016-2017 academic year in the amount of $6,000. The recipient will conduct research that will address high-priority natural resource management questions that have been identified by the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy Field Institute.  In addition to monetary assistance, the Field Institute can also provide trained citizen scientists to assist in field work.

Click here for information on how to apply.

David Pearson

With the new story on a pair peregrine falcons nesting in the downtown Phoenix area, a theme of urban wildlife has emerged. David found that although many animals will become extinct as our global population increases, there are and will be many organisms that will evolve to co-exist and adapt to a lifestyle with humans.

A five-year Arizona State University initiative called FutureH2O is flipping the global conversation about water – focusing on abundance and how to create it, rather than on scarcity.

John Sabo, a senior sustainability scientist and professor in the School of Life Sciences, directs the new initiative and announced it at a White House Water Summit on March 22, 2016.

“FutureH2O will look for new opportunities to harness the abundance of water on the planet,” said Sabo. “Some of these opportunities are things you’d expect us to do as a university, like training the next generation of water managers. But some of the other opportunities are things that ASU is uniquely poised to do."

ASU will work with large corporate water consumers to restore what they use, train a new generation of leaders on water usage, turn a Phoenix-area municipality into a model for reducing outdoor water use, as well as maximize sensors, data and the internet on a global scale to instantly manage water and hydropower.

Allison Weidemann, School of Sustainability Alumni

Weidemann, was awarded a Fulbright Grant to teach English  in Turkey.

Jin Jo, School of Sustainability Alumni

Selected for a position with U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Visiting Faculty Program at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). He will collaborate with the world's top scientist on an energy optimization plan.

Taking part in a high-visibility event near the nation’s capital means you need to be on your toes. Just ask sustainability scientist Zak Holman, an assistant professor in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering in ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. He was displaying a technology at the recent ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit near Washington, D.C., when Al Gore, the former vice president, walked up and asked him about the PVMirror Holman had invented.

Holman’s PVMirrors were part of an ASU LightWorks display put on by Arizona State University for the ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy) summit. ASU professors, staff and students took part in the three-day event. They had the chance to show off their work to several people, including dignitaries like Jim Yong Kim – president of the World Bank – who was also impressed by Holman's technology.

On Friday, March 25, and Monday, March 28, 2016, the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes will host decision scientists Richard Maloney, New Zealand Department of Conservation; Gwen Iacona, University of Queensland, Australia; and Stephanie Avery-Gomm, University of Queensland, Australia.

Part of CBO's Biodiversity Series, a seminar titled "Five important things needed to spend money efficiently on saving threatened species" will be held on March 28 in Wrigley Hall, Room 481 – ASU Tempe campus – from 1:30-3:00 p.m. It will address the decision-making processes designed to maximize species recovery with limited resources at regional and national levels.

CBO, in conjunction with the featured scientists, are collaborating with the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service to address resource challenges regarding the protection and recovery of endangered species.

If you would like to talk with Dr. Maloney, Dr. Iacona or Dr. Avery-Gomm on Friday, March 25, contact Anita Hagy Ferguson at Anita.Hagyferguson@asu.edu to schedule a meeting time.

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The agencies involved in implementing the Endangered Species Act have difficult choices to make regarding which species and actions are of the highest priority.

Of the 1,125 currently listed species under the Endangered Species Act, 50% still have declining populations or are high risk for extinction, with 800 additional species that must be considered by 2018. Listing species under the act is assumed to promote recovery, yet for this to be successful, conservation actions must be taken post-listing and adequate funding must be allocated. Currently only approximately 12% of listed species receive the recommended funding.

CBO Director Leah Gerber proposes that reallocating funds from species with budget surplus to offset funding deficits for underfunded species could support recovery for 180 species. The full publication in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences can be accessed here.

Read more on the paper in Science Insider, Climate Progress, The Wildlife Society, 91.5 KJZZ,  Wired and Global Possibilities.